U.S. Senator John McCain is having a campaign rally in New Orleans tonight just before the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Who can forget the picture of a smiling McCain and George W. Bush holding a birthday cake the morning that the disaster hit? Even worse, who could forget that John McCain twice voted against the appointment of a commission to investigate the abysmal administration response to Katrina?
In a statement following Hurricane Katrina John McCain said that Americans should “come to the aid” of Katrina victims and then he voted to oppose extending unemployment benefits to the victims of the disaster. He also voted against granting them access to Medicaid at their most desperate time of need. Apparently his call to come to their aid did not extend to himself nor beyond his extreme ideology. Repeatedly John McCain’s actions have been the exact opposite of his words on Katrina. Will he take the time tonight to explain his record or will he pretend that it doesn’t exist and misuse the solemn occasion purely for politics? That, like his record on Katrina, would be a real tragedy.
U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms (R-What's Wrong With You Sick, Frothing Morons?) is finally dead. Happy birthday, U.S. of A.
Helms was a hate-slathered cretin, whose campaigns and governing showed American democracy at its worst. "White people, wake up before it is too late. Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and your daughters, in your mills and factories? Frank Graham favors mingling of the races," thundered just one of many Helms' attacks over the decades.
Conservatives are saddened by the news. "Ol' 27 percent" George W. Bush was soiling his White House crying towel, calling Helms "kind," "decent" and "humble."
And while he had some admirers in Wisconsin, most notably Supreme Court Justice-Elect Mike Gableman's ad-writing team, Helms was a racist thug and the world mourns, simply because it took him so, so long to exit the world he befouled for over eight decades.
For my dough, I'm hoping Wonkette Editor Ken Layne has penned in "Jesse Helms: American Garbage," what will be a waterfall of appropriate tributes.
Feel free to add even better ones to the comment portion of this blog. Helms deserves it for all he did to people of color, gays, the poor and this nation's sense of decency.
The following text (in two e-mails) below was received from timkisting@aol.com, commenting on a brief analysis (SC Decision Striking Down Gun Control Is Fine with This Progressive) on the Supreme Court decision, District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290), that was picked up in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on Sunday.
Well, let's hope this guy, timkisting@aol.com, doesn't own a gun.
The ad hominem attempt (below among many) to insult by raising the possibility of my being a "fag" merits a reply: Being gay is okay. As is working for the people residing in "Milwaukee's ghetto population".
Congressman F. Jim Sensenbrenner must have way too much time on his hands. He must be spending it reading all of the right wing blog hysteria over flood victims in Milwaukee actually getting aid. Earlier this week people in Milwaukee’s central city stood in line to get food vouchers. There was apparently some confusion and frustration at the site which led to some pushing and shoving prompting a police response. After the incident right wing bloggers went completely nuts. Suddenly they declared the incident a full blown “riot” even though it had very few of the traits that one would associate with an actual riot.
Next they started overanalyzing pictures in the paper, doing fashion checks on those that stood in line. They began to show outrage because some of the people seeking aid actually had cell phones. Oh the horror! They even went to another sleazy low by commenting on the flood victim’s weight, and wondering why they would need food. It has really been a disgusting display feeding into all of the same racist stereotypes that apparently still plague our society. Now F. Jim Sensenbrenner has decided to jump in, trying to give some legitimacy to many of the fowl things being said on the right.
Read More »
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is conducting a nationwide “Road to Healthcare” campaign. During the effort, SEIU has traveled by bus all across the country educating people on the healthcare issue and enlisting people to demand the same quality healthcare that our public officials receive. They were also calling for an end to the many racial disparities that exist in our current dysfunctional healthcare system. Their latest stop was today at Milwaukee’s Juneteenth celebration.
The SEIU bus was set up on MLK near Center Street. In front of the bus were several tables where the SEIU passed out literature on healthcare and asked people to sign cards to their elected officials demanding universal healthcare. They were also asking people to sign cards to officials asking them to support the full rights to form a union as protected in the Free Choice Act. After I signed a health care card, a member of SEIU declared that I was now “deputized” in the fight for universal healthcare. He then gave me an SEIU “Road to Health Care” pin that declared, “Healthcare for all, NOW!”
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As soon as I turned the corner from Center Street onto Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, I was instantly able to take in the festive atmosphere from Milwaukee’s 2008 Juneteenth celebration. For those that may not know, Juneteenth is a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. The atmosphere today reminds me of just about every festival of its kind. Music fills the air from the radio stations and the live musicians playing along the sidewalk. Yet another indication of a Milwaukee summer festival was the smell of all kinds of food being cooked and served all along MLK Drive.
The Juneteenth celebration takes place on MLK Drive from Center Street all the way north to Burleigh. On both sides of the street are booths and venders of all types. Some are selling CD’s and music, while others are selling African style clothes, jewelry and t-shirts with a message. I also found many booths from various organizations and public officials. Below I have listed just some of the organizations that had a booth or some kind of presence at Juneteenth this year:
Service Employees International Union (more details to follow), MATC, UWM, Peace Action Wisconsin, The Milwaukee Fire Department (with a mobile “safety house for kids”), Several Milwaukee Churches, WMCS 1290, V100 Radio, Various Public Officials, and a City of Milwaukee Mobile Health Unit
It is no secret that anti-choice groups have long used radical tactics to oppose abortion. This year, we saw young children outfitted in "I survived the American Holocaust" tee shirts in legislative hearings in the Wisconsin capitol. Last July, we watched in horror as a group of "pro-lifers" staged, in front of a Milwaukee abortion clinic, a celebratory reenactment of the murder of a Florida abortion provider and his escort by Paul Hill. In short, their campaigns and demonstrations have grown increasingly extreme and more inappropriate as of late.
Continuing in this vein, Pro-Life Wisconsin is holding prayer vigils across the state on June 7, the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Griswold v. Connecticut. For non-history buffs, this 1965 Supreme Court decision struck down a Connecticut law outlawing contraception for married couples. Since the legalization of contraception, birth control has become commonplace in our society. In fact, 98% of American women use contraception at some point during their lifetime. Despite birth control’s popularity and safety, Pro-Life Wisconsin is joining other anti-choice groups on June 7 to protest outside family planning clinics that prescribe and dispense contraception to low income women. The name of their oh-so-subtle campaign? "Protest the Pill Day '08: The Pill Kills Babies".
Yes, you read that correctly. No longer satisfied with attacking a woman’s right to choose abortion, Pro-Life Wisconsin is now attacking the millions of women who use contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
Read More »Thanks to WSJ yesterday for this great response to the Supreme Court's Indiana voter ID ruling. The editorial noted:
Wisconsin votes at just about the highest rate in the nation. Seventy-three percent of Wisconsin's adult population cast ballots in the 2004 presidential election.
...
Wisconsin is virtually the best state in the nation at voting. Our Legislature should strive to keep it that way.
Looks like I got my amen.
In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling that Indiana's voter ID law is constitutional, about 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.
Another person who attempted to vote with a federal ID card was turned away because the card had no expiration date on it, and a woman who was newly married was turned away because her driver's license name didn't match the one on her voter registration record.
You can check out the full story here.
Read More »Marquette Professor John McAdams might be too busy silencing speech to comment, but two more studies have determined that Wisconsin leads the nation in yet another dubious category. The studies found that African Americans in Wisconsin are 42 times more likely than whites to receive prison terms for drug convictions. The stat is the highest racial disparity in drug sentencing in the nation. The studies also found that the City of Milwaukee has the second-highest racial disparity for drug arrests among all major U.S. cities.
The new national studies largely validate an analysis done by the Wisconsin Sentencing Commission last year. At that time, by “creative” use of numbers, John McAdams was able to crow bar his preconceived notions into the data. It was his confused attempt to belittle what are clear disparities in our criminal justice system. When he finally finishes his crusade against a comedian, McAdams will likely turn his biased analysis back to why these racial disparities are no big deal. While he is in the mood to censor stuff, that would be one presentation that I would like to nominate.
Residents who are interested in helping this effort should attend the next neighborhood meeting on May 10th, 2008 at the Center Street Library. (27th and Fond du Lac) at 10:15 AM.
This meeting is open to anyone who cares about what is happening in our city and believes that residents should have the opportunity to compete for the jobs our money creates!
On Monday the Supreme Court upheld Indiana’s strict voter ID law. The most direct and accurate analysis of this decision was by Representative Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee). She said that the decision was “an unconstitutional solution in search of a problem.” This is such a good statement because it is accurate and gets directly to the heart of the matter.
There is simply no widespread voter fraud problem in Wisconsin, Indiana or in the country as a whole. An exhaustive study was done on the slew of allegations made by Republicans in the 2004 presidential election and the vast majority was found to be totally without merit. In fact, in giving an example of significant voter fraud, one of the concurring justices in Monday’s decision had to reach all the way back to 140 years ago. Not even the State of Indiana was able to present evidence of the type of voter fraud that the law was supposedly devised to deter.
Read More »In the wake of the 2004 election, Indiana passed a voter ID law, citing the need to preserve electoral integrity and curb the rampant voter fraud that allegedly happens during presidential elections - despite the fact that several studies have shown this problem simply doesn't exist in Indiana, here in Wisconsin, or on a national level at all, for that matter.
Several organizations representing historically disenfranchised groups - namely, African-Americans, senior citizens, and the working poor - challenged this law in the U.S. Supreme Court, saying that it unduly burdens a citizen's right to vote. You'd think the Supreme Court would reject an argument made by lawmakers that this legislation is necessary to protect democracy by targeting a problem that doesn't exist and disenfranchising thousands of people in the process. Read More »
As he continues with his “Forgotten Place” tour today John McCain is going to speak in the lower ninth ward of New Orleans. I have a funny feeling that he will conveniently “forget” a few things as he makes this stop.
I wonder if John McCain will remind the people of New Orleans that in 2005 he was resistant to sending federal funds to help reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. At that time he cited an increased deficit as his reason for his skepticism. This from a man that has recently admitted that he would continue with his tax cuts for the wealthy even if it does increase the deficit. Someone should remind McCain of his comments about New Orleans and demand that he explain both his reasoning and his out of touch priorities.
Read More »March 25, 2008
For more information contact:
Jennifer Epps 414-443-0682
Fed up with Injustice, Milwaukee Residents "Rise Up"
More than 1,000 city residents unite to solve Milwaukee's economic crisis
Milwaukee is facing harsh economic times. In response, residents are "Rising Up." At 5 pm on Saturday, March 29th, just 3 days before the critical April 1st elections, more than 1000 residents will gather at the Rave for "Rise Up Milwaukee: Rhythm For a Reason" -an event to unify diverse areas of the city in recognition of the common need for family-friendly jobs with fair wages, where workers can work free from fear with safe and healthy working conditions. The event is organized by "The Milwaukee Unity Cam-paign," a coalition of local community organizations, labor unions, and residents working together to address the economic crisis facing Milwaukee's residents, particularly in African-American and Latino communities. Read More »
As the election season continues, separatists will develop more reasons for creating divisions between African-Americans and Latinos, and it will be fueled by each side's elementary point of view of the other. We compete against each other in the oppression Olympics in order to position ourselves at the place on the table where we think the biggest crumb will go.
Hispanics claim that Blacks are one-upping them if Obama wins the presidency and Blacks charge that Hispanics are getting more than their fair share. Such Tomfoolery only perpetuates division and continues segregation between the groups, who by and large, have no real political or economic power in this country.
I'm not naive to believe that tossing in the red, white and blue will bring us together as a people, so professing that we are Americans and that we should simply move forward as Americans in the best interest of America would only put the elephant in the room out of sight. In fact, White America continues to treat Black America differently, so the notion of a united America can be argued is a myth as well. If we are truly dedicated to stabilizing our communities and doing, as Barack Obama professes, and that is to change America, why then promote gender and racial differences?
White liberal democrat and former vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, a former member of Sen. Hillary Clinton's finance committee, recently exposed her racist sentiments when she boomed for the public to hear that Obama is only where he's at because he's Black. Not because the guy is brilliant. Not because he has leadership traits that make him a formidable presidential candidate. He's winning because he's Black is what Ferraro wants the general public to believe.
Such talk coming from a leader of the dominate culture in this society resonates with the uneducated masses and separatists' movements that continue to deteriorate the ideals of liberty and principles of justice this nation should uphold.
But those ideas and principles become lost when individuals like Ferraro open up their mouths to espouse profound words of ignorance. Obviously, these words are then taken as proof positive by many under-educated people in the public as truth.
Hispanics tend to gravitate to these kinds of messages. Just like Blacks tend to gravitate to the idea that Hispanics are taking their jobs. The reality for Black and Brown people is that we have no control of this country's financial institutions nor do we have any real power in Wall Street or the federal government. As consumers we have some leverage, but not even there do we get respect from Corporate America, which dumps inferior products into our communities.
Obama's candidacy is being pointed to as an example of the myth of Black and Brown coalitions. In fact, I have yet to see any real organizing taking place across the country to build a Black and Brown coalition in support of Obama.
So, if there is no Black and Brown coalition being organized, then how is it that it can be argued that such a coalition is a myth? This is not to say that we should organize around any issue, indeed, we should come together around issues that benefit both communities--working with those who are recognized community leaders.
Obama won the Hispanic vote in his home state of Illinois, albeit by a small margin. There was no Black and Brown coalition established to make that happen. It happened because Obama was fairly known in the Latino community of Illinois.
The vote for Obama could have been better, but as Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez pointed out, Obama's campaign lacked cohesion in reaching the Hispanic voters in Illinois.
Without outreach and organizing, there will never be cohesion in building a Black and Brown coalition; but then again, that's probably what the separatists and nationalists on both sides leading the debate today would prefer. If so, will this lack of cohesion help build a united America, or continue down the path of self-destruction?
Legislation is being held up by the Republican controlled Assembly, that would save taxpayers money, streamline election day procedures and enfranchise some 38,000 people, allowing them to vote in November. The bill would allow those that have been convicted of felonies to vote while they are still on parole or probation. Current Wisconsin law disenfranchises those citizens until they are totally “off paper.” African Americans comprise 39 percent of this group of people even though they only make up 5 percent of the state’s voting age population. One has to wonder about the Assembly Republicans real intentions in holding up such a bill.
Milwaukee’s Shepherd Express reported this week that 16 states have changed their laws to allow released felons to vote since 1997. The Legislative Audit Bureau has reported that Wisconsin’s strict policy has prevented at least 1,537 people from voting even though they legally could vote in November 2006. Not only does our restrictive law lock out some of the wrong people, it also prevents the people that we want to reintegrate back into society from doing so fully. As State Rep. Joe Parisi (D-Madison) has said, “Our goal should be reintegration, not alienation.”
As one of only 9 states in the country practicing same-day registration, Wisconsin averages a 10% higher voter turnout and consistently produces more democratic electoral results overall than non-practicing states.
But AB158, a Republican-sponsored bill in the Assembly right now, proposes to do away with same-day registration altogether, invoking the specter of "voter fraud" in Milwaukee in the past 2 presidential elections. A two-month investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that 361 ineligible ex-felons voted in the 2001 election. But even assuming this figure is correct, these 361 votes constitute no more than .002% of all WI voters in that election. And a joint probe launched by Bush administration's Department of Justice probe and Milwaukee DA's office produced only 7 convictions in the entire state - all found to be clerical errors. The GOP contends that just because you can't always prosecute voter fraud doesn't mean it isn't rampant. But what's politically easier: filing a public request for the IDs of 37,000 Milwaukee voters (most of which are poor, black, and vote Democratic) so newspapers can run headlines for two months about unsubstantiated crimes, or legislating electoral reform based on the best research available?
AB158 also seeks to bring WI into full compliance with the 2002 federal Help America Vote Act and the National Voting Rights Act. With regard to HAVA, this means that unregistered voters can cast a provisional ballot that is retroactively verified. However, the post-election verification process requires the voter to appear in person with proper identification the next day, and still creates the same amount of clerical work same-day registration does without lessening the risk of voter "fraud" due to human error. And Wisconsin's State Voter Registration System (SVRS), our self-defense database against faulty addresses, is only updated after every presidential election. The National Voting Rights Act (popularly known as the Motor Voter Act) lets people register to vote when they apply for or renew their driver's license or visit any public assistance office, something WI currently doesn't allow. But 16-year-olds can't vote, and according to a 2005 UW-Milwaukee study, half of Wisconsin's blacks, most of which tend to vote Democratic, don't have driver's licenses.
In short, AB158 appears to be tough on voter fraud and expand the number of opportunities Wisconsinites have to register to vote. In practice, it's a textbook example of the politicization of electoral reform to another party's advantage.
It may have been a minor hassle on Tuesday to verify I wasn't a convicted felon in conspiracy with Milwaukee's poor and dead to give Al Gore another chance. But filling out a form and bringing a piece of mail with me were a small price to pay to participate in democracy. Voters and legislators alike should see through the politics to preserve true "electoral integrity".
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